Five injured in accident near Civic Center

Tools

The driver of a sports utility vehicle was busted for blasting through a red light and creating the collision that hospitalized five people at a busy intersection near City Hall on Monday morning, police said.

Everyone wounded in the 6 a.m. smash-up at Polk and Hayes streets was expected to survive, police Sgt. Troy Dangerfield said. The driver, who was not intoxicated, has been cited, Dangerfield said.

Fire officials initially reported that one person had been critically wounded, but the injuries, which included broken bones, turned out not to be so severe, Dangerfield said.

The injured ranged in age between 12 and 59, police said.

The crash propelled the SUV halfway into an empty parking lot, witnesses said. The SUV reportedly collided with a pick-up truck.

One of the cars had entered Hayes Street from Market Street while the other was going southbound on Polk Street, Dangerfield said.